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Meat from India

Chartayshyachartayshya

Chartayshya is dried goat meat (chevon) of the Kumaon Himalaya, cooked as a curry. It is a dried and smoked meat rather than a sausage, yet lactic acid bacteria are its main microbes, at about 6.9 log cfu/g.

A short entry: the sources we found record only what is said here about Chartayshya itself. Its own sources do not record how it is made, so the steps and scenes below are those of Jamma (geema), the closest documented meat ferment, shown as a guide to the method, not as a record of Chartayshya.

Short entryMeat15 days – 20 days

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedWhat goes in. No source gives amounts for this ferment.
red goat meat (chevon)
salt

Total time across the steps of Jamma (geema): 15 days – 20 days

Start
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What changes: Minced goat meat is mixed with millet, salt, wild pepper, chilli, water and blood

Step 1 of 4 · steps of Jamma (geema)
Mix meat, millet, spices and blood
Time
Not documented
Temperature
Not documented
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Lactic acid bacteria
Flavour
Not documented
Texture
Not documented
Colour
Not documented

Microbes at work in this step

Not documented for this step.

Method

Measured measured in a studySet fixed by a specification or tested recipeReported one source reports itTypical a general value, not sourced for this fermentUnconfirmed not yet checked against a source

At a glance

Chartayshya is dried goat meat (chevon) of the Kumaon Himalaya, cooked as a curry. It is a dried and smoked meat rather than a sausage, yet lactic acid bacteria are its main microbes, at about 6.9 log cfu/g. Made in 2 steps over 15 days – 20 days. The longest step, thread and hang to dry, takes 15–20 days (Rai A.K 2009). Lactic acid bacteria, the main microbes (6.9 ± 0.1 log cfu/g in chartayshya); species found across chartayshya, jamma and arjia were Enterococcus durans, E. faecalis, E. faecium, E. hirae, Leuconostoc citreum, Leuc. mesenteroides, Pediococcus pentosaceus and Weissella cibaria does most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main step15–20 daysReported[rai2009]Thread and hang to dry

What makes this one different

Chartayshya is pieces of goat meat dried without a casing, while jamma and arjia from the same communities are stuffed sausages that are boiled first.

Related ferments

Variants

  • Sukha sikharWestern Nepal name for a similar dried chevon.

History and sources

Every number is labelled with how it is known. How this atlas is made

  1. [oki2011] Oki K., Rai A.K., Sato S., Watanabe K., Tamang J.P. 2011, Lactic acid bacteria isolated from ethnic preserved meat products of the Western Himalayas, Food Microbiology 28:1308-1315 (abstract)paper
  2. [tamang2016] Tamang J.P., Watanabe K., Holzapfel W.H. 2016, Review, diversity of microorganisms in global fermented foods and beverages, Frontiers in Microbiology 7:377, Table 6 (chartayshya listed as dried, smoked chevon eaten as curry)paper
  3. [rai2009] Rai A.K., Palni U., Tamang J.P. 2009, Traditional knowledge of the Himalayan people on production of indigenous meat products, Indian Journal of Traditional Knowledge 8(1):104-109paper